George Washington Carver

An Innovative Life

This title in the Snapshots: Images of People and Places in History series introduces readers to the scientist, inventor and professor who became a symbol of African American success and interracial harmony. George Washington Carver was the orphan son of slaves, but he went on to become the world-famous ?Peanut Scientist.'

George invented more than 325 products from peanuts --- including gasoline, shampoo, ice cream and chili sauce. Even when George was a child he was known as the ?Plant Doctor? because he could make almost any plant grow. It was through his groundbreaking research in agriculture that George radically improved the lives of countless African American farmers in the southern United States.